The way things are (revised)
by ArmySFC
Summary: Follow on to "Way things could have been". If you read that one you should like this one. Not much else to say but read and enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is the sequel to the way things could have been. I will attempt to add more romantic Charah moments and hook Casey up. Unlike my last one I have no idea where this one is headed. If you have any idea's you'd like to see happen let me know I'm good at adlibbing! The rock climbing places are real and so are the names, I'm not kidding. Thanks for your support.**

Chapter 1 Learning to Fly

Chuck, Sarah, White and Eve were getting restless over the past few months because of the lack of activity in the spy world. The ISA still a lot of missions but they could all be handled by the normal agents. Since they had taken down the Ring a good many organizations that at one time had delusions of grandeur began fading away. It's not that they were giving up; they just decided that for the time being discretion was the better part of valor and backed off.

Chuck said it the best, "You can only spend so many hours a day training and having sex."

"I will agree with you on the training parts Chuck," Sarah chimed in, "But I have to disagree with you on the sex part."

"You see what you created Bill? All they talk about is sex anymore," complained Eve. "I remember the old days when Chuck was all shy and reserved and never brought up sex. He couldn't even look at a hot chick without stumbling over his tongue. Now they're like a couple of rabbits. I have to wipe down the chairs every time I come in here," Eve faked a shiver as she finished speaking.

"She's right you know," Sarah said as she jumped back into the conversation. "Ever since we caught you two doing it in here he became more daring. I like it," this was said with a laugh.

"You only caught us a few times," White said defending himself.

"It was three times in one week for crying out loud," it was Chuck's turn to join in.

"What can I say, when the mood strikes…" he was cut off by Chuck.

"Enough about sex, I've never been this idle before and it's driving me nuts."

"Chuck, I have an idea that I have been holding off on for a while now," began White. "We have several birds just sitting around waiting to be used. We have Beckman send you and Sarah to Fallon and learn to fly them. They still have instructors qualified on the Cats. If anything comes up you need to take care of you can just leave."

"It sounds like fun but how will it help us in the long run?" questioned Sarah.

"Several ways, first we can make short trips on a moment's notice and not have to depend on Beckman getting us a flight. Second, I'll use Casey's current mission as an example. Casey is currently with Carina in Texas trying to stop a drug smuggling operation. They have to depend on ICE and others for their Intel. We would just have to do a few flyovers and snap pictures, same as they did in the gulf and Bosnia. They would get better data than ICE can provide and get it quicker."

"That sounds like it could help them out a great deal, or other agents for that matter," replied Chuck.

"The other thing is I won't have to scramble to find another wingman if we need them like we did against the Ring. If you decide to do this Sarah will need to pilot the bird and you'll ride back seat. With you special abilities you may see something that you need to report in. I can't have you hitting the side of a mountain if you get hit with a big flash," explained White. "If nothing else it's a great way of stress relief, not as good as sex of course, but close to it." That comment caused Chuck to groan and Eve and Sarah to laugh.

"You make the calls and set it up, besides I always wanted to learn to fly," Chuck added.

"I need to call Ellie and make sure we're still on for tonight. What are you and the guys gonna do?" remarked Sarah.

"Nothing as hedonistic as you three ladies I assure you," answered Chuck.

"Since when is planning our wedding hedonistic?"

White looked at Chuck and shrugged giving him a look that said it's your funeral.

"You win Sarah, were just going to hang out and plan a rock climbing adventure that Devon wants to do. Now let's go home."

Later that night the couples met at Ellie's place before splitting up and heading their separate ways. The guys were dressed casual in jeans and tee shirts. The ladies were a different story. Sarah was the tamest of the group in tight jeans, black tank top and boots. Eve was sporting a black mini and red tank with low heels. Ellie was the wildest of the bunch. She was wearing skin tight black leather pants and chain belt, white belly shirt that showed off her toned abs complete with navel piercing, and boots.

Ellie's transformation had taken place over the last year, at first it was just the daring clothes when she went out with Eve and Sarah. One day while spending time at the beach with the two ladies she decided she wanted the same muscle tone and definition her friends had. Plus she began to understand what exactly their jobs entailed. With Sarah and Eve's prodding she had started going on some missions with them, first as medical support then as an active member of the team.

They began working out together whenever they could doing cardio and martial arts. Then as she increased her role they started her on a training schedule. Now when the three of them strolled down the beach in their barely there bikini's all eyes were on them. Ellie found herself thinking, _take that Devon_.

The three ladies departed for the club and the men started planning the trip. "Why don't we try this place Devon, its' called Sunset Boulders Goat Rock," suggested Chuck.

"I saw some pictures of it on the internet and it looks wild," added White. "Plus it's in northern California."

"How about this one, the Shredding?" asked Devon as he showed the site.

"Hell no, I'm not telling Sarah I plan on climbing the Crack Whore, Space sluts or Porn Star. Good luck with Ellie on that one."

"Yeah Devon, I can see it now. You walk up to her and say, hey babe me and the boys are gonna go climb the crack whore. You'll see stars for a week and Chuck will need to give you first aid when your ass stops bouncing across the court yard," White laughed.

"I've been meaning to ask you guys for a while now, what's up with Ellie? She's changed a lot over the last year or so."

"It's your own fault dude," began White. "When I first got here you used to prance around here bragging about how great you looked, but you never told her how good she looked. I think she was insulted. I know I was. You look good but can't save you own ass. Ellie looks great and can kick your ass. You might want to start working out with her some, show you care about what she does. We both work out with our girls and it's a lot of fun."

"My sister was never self-absorbed like you get sometimes. Next time you plan a high adventure trip take her skydiving, she loves it. Leave the dopes from work and school at home. Trust me it will help."

"When did she ever skydive?" Devon was surprised by Chuck's comment. Chuck knew he had screwed up just then. He just remembered her reaction after jumping in to treat some wounded DEA agents a few months back. The roads were blocked and all the rescue helos were busy with a major accident. Sarah gave her a quick lesson prior to the jump and off they went.

"Sarah took her for a jump a few months ago, they did a tandem jump." He wasn't going to tell Devon that she had been going with them for a while; it was Ellie's secret to keep.

They looked over a few more places before deciding on Sunset Boulders. Devon had an early day at the hospital so they left him around ten and went to Chuck's to wait for the girls. It was around one o'clock when White's phone rang.

"Hey babe what's up…you need a ride…uh huh…where…_really…_see you in a bit." White was biting his tongue in an effort not to laugh. "Come on Chuck we got to bail the girls out," he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

"Bail them out? Why they get too drunk to drive?"

"No they got locked up that's all I know. Eve said she would explain when we get there."

"This can't be good you know that right?"

White looked straight at Chuck and said, "No shit Sherlock."

At the police station they were shown to the cell that was holding the three women. To say they were a mess would be an understatement. Each of them was covered in scratches and parts of their tops were missing. Eve and Ellie had cut lips and Sarah had a black eye. White was the first to speak.

"Would you three hellcats like to explain how you ended up here looking like that?"

"It's a long story so how about you bail us out first then we explain?" Eve tried batting her eyes to look innocent but in her condition White just looked at her. Sarah was tired of waiting spoke up.

"We got tired of being hit on at the club we normally go to so I suggested someplace different. I asked around and the bartender told us about this place called Red Velvet. He assured us no guys would hit on us. I got directions and we went."

"It turns out Red Velvet is a lesbian club," added Ellie. "We went in and grabbed a table and started talking about the wedding."

"You do see the flaw in your plan right?" Chuck interjected. "Three hot babes, dressed like that going into a lesbian club?"

"In retrospect not our finest moment," Eve chimed in. "We were ok until Ellie took offense at something a chick said to her. And this is the result."

"Ellie? She started it?" Chuck was stunned.

"She called me a baby dyke and I got pissed and whacked her. Next thing we knew all hell broke loose."

"Chuck, those chicks don't fight fair. One of them tried to scratch my eyes out," explained Sarah. "It's hard to hit someone when some bitch is hanging from your back pulling your hair."

"Next thing I know, I'm on the floor in a mass of bodies. I don't even know who I was hitting I was just wailing anything I could," added Ellie.

"My shirt got ripped open when some chick tried to cop a feel and I knocked her on her ass. I don't think her girlfriend liked that too much. The last thing I remember was looking up at the biggest chick I ever saw, she must have been six four and one eighty, then lights out," Sarah added in.

"Well that explains your black eye. We'll go post bail and wait out front till they release you. Come on White lets go spring our women, I'll call Devon to come get Ellie," and they started walking away.

"Charles Irving Bartowski if you don't get my ass out of here right now you will regret it. Sarah won't be around all the time to save your ass," Ellie was screaming at him.

"Just Kidding El, but the next time you guys get involved in a drunken lesbian brawl, I'm sending Devon to get you out." It didn't take too long to spring the hellcats and return home. Chuck wondered what Devon's reaction would be. Even a year later he was still trying to come to grips with the fact Ellie was different than she was in college. He dreaded the day Devon found out that Ellie had gone on a few missions with Sarah and their Mom.

The next morning the General was not a happy camper when she took in the sight of her two female agents. She was even less pleased when she heard the explanation. Beckman did like the idea of Chuck and Sarah attending the flight school and pulled some strings to get them in.

Several concessions were made for her crew; they would not be in the regular class because they didn't need the aerial combat portion. Several other parts of the school would also be skipped over. They would just be taught how to fly the birds and use the equipment in them. White also explained to the General they would not need to take part in the Carrier landing portion. Beckman also informed her team that White and Eve would need to accompany them to the school and help out with their training.

White and Eve were having a great time until they received a call from Captain Ingles stating that he had received a call recommending him to assist in the final training mission for the classes getting to graduate. White, of course, flipped his lid at this claiming he was not a Naval Aviator and it should be left up to the younger pilots the Navy had. His excuse didn't fly with the higher ups and he ended up being part of the aggressor squadron that the new pilots would face in mock aerial combat. The one good thing that came out of the whole mess occurred when Hammer showed up to assist him. No one could figure out how Rabb managed to arrange his being there, but as soon as Hammer showed up, the newest class of Top Gun pilots knew they would be in a world of hurt during their final exam. If the after class reviews were to be believed and they were by the top brass in the Navy, the new class had been schooled by the finest pair of Naval Aviators to fly the skies. That was until they found out that White wasn't in the Navy at all, despite the fact that he looked eerily familiar to several of the high ranking officers that saw footage of him and Hammer flying together.

During their time at Fallon, White and Eve aided Casey and Carina by doing some reconnaissance work. They did a few flyovers and passed the pictures over to their team mates. It provided them with some routes the smugglers were using that could not be seen on the ground. By the time Chuck and Sarah finished up their training Casey and Carina had stopped a large amount of drugs from crossing into Texas. When they earned their wings White presented them with their helmets and call signs. Chuck's was easy, Flash. Sarah was a bit harder but when he remembered the fight at the bar it came to him. Sarah would be called, Hellcat or Cat for short.

With another dimension added to the team, they were even more prepared to take on what was lying ahead of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: here is chapter 2. While I can't promise the same fast updates as before I will attempt every other day. NCIS makes an appearance in this chapter. If Gibbs seems OOC, it's on purpose. I don't watch the show, never did and never will. I remember his behavior in the pilot which aired on Jag. It is how he acted in those two episodes. I hope you all enjoy, let me know good or bad. Thanks for all the reviews. I hope I got back to anyone who did review, if not sorry. Now on with the story!**

Chapter 2: coming clean, sort of.

During their time at Fallon, Chuck was in continual contact with his ISA teams and his sister. White's idea had already paid off when Casey and Carina helped the DEA close a major smuggling operation down. It was some of the calls to his sister that had him concerned. It was becoming more apparent to Chuck and Ellie that Devon was not taking his advice in regards to Ellie. He received a call from her one day that raised his concerns.

"Hey Sis, what's up?"

"Not me that's for sure," she sighed. "Devon's being a pain in the ass again about everything. He's trying to get me to go on another stupid bike trip with him and his frat buddies. I love the guy but man is he dense sometimes."

"He can be rather obtuse at times," responded Chuck. "What else can I do to help? White and I already talked to him. We don't know what else to do."

"Do me a favor Chuck and talk to White. He has some crazy ass ideas sometimes; maybe it's time we thought outside the box."

"He's in the air right now schooling some of the Navy's top pilots, but I'll have him call when he finishes up."

"I need to ask little brother, don't you think it's a bit odd that a guy who claims to have been in the Army for thirty years, flies a fighter jet like he's been doing it all his life?" questioned Ellie.

"That struck us as funny too when we took down the ring," answered Chuck before he continued. "We did a complete check on him and nothing came up. All his records matched his story perfectly, there wasn't a single hit on anything, not even my _brain_ could come up with anything on him."

"I still think it's weird but if you're not worried then I'm ok with it also. Thanks for agreeing to talk with White Chuck. I'll be home all day so White can call at any time. Talk to you later."

"Later El."

Several hours later Ellie's phone rang and it was White.

"So El, Chuck tells me you have man troubles and want my help."

"Yeah I do, so what have you got for me?"

"El, have I got a plan for you." For the next twenty minutes they talked over his plan and made the arrangements. He would need to get Eve's help for part of it, but being the romantic she was would make it easy.

**A few days later **

"Devon, hurry up and get dressed. I have a surprise for you and we need to get going."

"Babe, you should have told me. I would have gotten up sooner."

"No big deal we have time I just don't need you dawdling around mixing that shake you drink. We'll get something later now let's get going."

A short drive later they were at a small private airfield walking up to a small plane. They were greeted by the pilot and ushered onto the plane. Once they were in the air Ellie spoke up.

"I feel we have been neglecting each other over the last few months. So I planned this day trip for us. Sit back enjoy the sights. When we land at our destination there will be a lunch waiting for us."

"Wow El, that sounds great." Twenty minutes into the flight the plane dipped sharply and smoke appeared to be coming out of the engine. The pilot called out.

"The engine is getting ready to blow; I don't know how long I can keep us up. I'm going to head for the fields I passed earlier. You guys get ready to jump," he points to the chutes hanging on the sides of the plane.

"Come on Devon you heard him put your chute on." Ellie tossed him a chute and began putting hers on. It was difficult with the plane pitching like it was but they managed. The pilot held the plane steady long enough for them to get out. Devon looked up at the plane and saw the smoke had stopped and the plane was now flying ok. They landed in an open field about fifty yards apart. Devon gathered up his stuff and ran over to check on Ellie.

"Babe are you ok?"

"Devon, I'm fine. That was awesome. Best jump I had in a while."

"Best jump you had in a while?" Devon questioned. "The plane was gonna crash and you enjoyed the jump. Ellie you're not making sense."

Ellie took his hands and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before leading him away from where they had landed. While they were walking Ellie started her explanation.

"Devon, it was a setup. The plane was fine. The pilot is a friend of White's and he uses the smoke to simulate a crash at air shows. I tried having my brother talk to you and you didn't listen. I like skydiving and go with Chuck and the crew all the time. You never want to go; you'd rather ride a bike up some stupid hills."

They reached their destination and a small picnic had been set up. Ellie pointed to it and commented, "Courtesy of Eve, she didn't want us to go hungry as we talked."

"So this is all a setup so we can talk? Why not back home?"

"Because out here we can be ourselves and not worry about getting loud if we have to. Help me get the food out." Once the food was out Ellie began again, "I'm not the person you think you know. Well I am mostly, but it's complicated. I fell in love with the person you are almost as soon as we met. You fell in love with the college girl you wanted not the real me. I've kept the real me hidden for a long time because it was who you wanted. Sarah and Eve convinced me to be myself." Ellie paused to get a drink.

"So who are you?" asked Devon.

"I'm still me Devon; just more open about the real me. Look at my family Devon, my Mom and Dad are spies. Chuck is one of the best Spies out there. Their sense of adventure and confidence is the same as mine. It's like I was bred for it. Devon my friends are spies, would I fit in with them so well if it wasn't part of whom I am?"

"You're trying to tell me you're a spy?"

"And I thought Chuck was dense," Ellie sighed. "I'm not a spy, I like what they do. I love jumping out of planes into a hot zone, repelling down the side of a building while the bad guys are trying to get you and sneaking into buildings to steal a computer from an arms dealer. Do any of them one time and you'll want more. It's the ultimate adrenaline rush. Your hobbies are great for staying in shape but the danger and rush is so much less it fails to compare."

"You do that crazy shit for the rush? Are you nuts Ellie," Devon was not only freaking out he was getting louder.

"I guess I do. I don't do it often but when I do I love it. I love what we do also. What I want is for us to do things together we both like. One time we can do the bike things you like so much and the next time repel off a bridge. We do it together, and not with your frat boys. Maybe one time we all get together, my friends and yours. I want us to work out so bad it hurts sometimes. That won't happen until you accept who I really am."

"Ellie, this has been a lot to take in all at one time. I'm just glad you decided to tell me everything. Now that I know we can get back on track," Devon suddenly had a thought. "When exactly did you repel down a building and jump into a hot zone?"

"Some of the other things I need to tell you about." Ellie then went on to explain she had gone on several missions with Sarah and Eve, and about her helping out the DEA. It would take her a while and at the end of the day it was apparent to both Ellie and Devon that they would have some work to do on their relationship but in the end they would be better and stronger because of it.

**After Fallon**

Things had settled down quickly on the home front for Ellie and Devon. Back at ISA Chuck's team had just received the word from Beckman that some classified data was stolen from the Kitsap Naval Base. The data had a list of the nuclear fleet and their locations. They could not allow the information to get into the wrong hands.

The team was discussing the parameters of the mission and who they wanted to go under cover and who would meet with the NCIS agents in charge of the case.

"White, I want you and Eve to be our inside people on this," Chuck began, "Sarah and I will work with the NCIS team and Casey will actually be himself for a change, an agent for the NSA."

"Chuck you do remember I'm an Army guy right? Casey would know more about the Navy, his being in the Corps and all."

"That's true but you were Navy once, and we're going to use that to our advantage."

"I was an Aviator for that mission, not a bubble head. Kitsap is home to the Pacific Fleets Submarines. I don't think there's a carrier there at the moment."

"Exactly White, chances are you have never met any of them before. Most of them should be retired by now anyway."

Hearing this White turned to Casey and said, "He doesn't understand it's a small world does he?" Casey just gave a grunt and shrugged his shoulders. "That's what I thought."

"I have the contact at NCIS and we'll meet up with on base. Casey you come in a few days later after we call you in. This is one mission that we need to report everything in as we find it. Every agency will be looking into this so we can't afford our normal cloak and dagger stuff."

"Care to fill me in on my cover identity then Chuck?"

"Beckman just sent them over, you two will be Captain William Reynolds and Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Woods, welcome to the Navy." Both his agents groaned at this. "You will be filling the spots left open when the officers in place were relieved of duty."

"You don't have another Intersect in your back pocket that just has the Navy regulations do you? I really envy you some days."

"Sorry Reynolds, not yet, Ellie and my Dad are working on a mini Intersect that most people could handle. They're about six months away from that though."

"Come on Eve we better go pack and we have to go to get some uniforms set up. I'm gonna get him back one day, and it's gonna feel good." They left the others to finish up.

"One last thing, NCIS has called in hits heavy hitters for this. Agents Gibbs and David are in route along with forensic expert Abby Sciuto. I know David personally and that might help us out."

After they arrived at Kitsap it was a rough couple of days for the teams. White and Eve were having a tough time just getting into their new offices. The entire base was on alert because of the theft of the top secret data. Everything had to be checked and rechecked before they could even in process. It was a good thing that Orion was very good at his job.

Chuck and his crew were not having much better luck. NCIS was stonewalling them, led by Gibbs. His 'I'm the best attitude' was not getting them anywhere. Chuck finally got Ziva alone for a chat and found that they had no information or clues. All they could come up with was the thief was highly skilled.

With the investigation going nowhere the two teams began sniping at each other and tempers flared up several times. It wasn't long before word from vehicle registration made its way to the team that a captain was seen driving around in a car that nobody in the navy should be able to afford. A Captain Reynolds had just registered a Lexus hot wheels concept car. They researched the car found out that only three were ever built that year and they were used only for car shows. None were ever going to be produced for sale. They further found out the captain had been telling people he had suddenly come into some money. Under Gibbs' direction they went to talk to the captain in question.

"Captain Reynolds we would like to have a word with you," began Gibbs.

"Gentlemen, ladies take a seat. How can help you?"

"How did you come into the money you are tossing around?" asked Gibbs. He knew right away he would have trouble getting information from Reynolds. Naval aviators were a tough bunch to deal with.

"Why is that important to you?" Reynolds began in a cocky tone. "Unless you think I have something to do with the information that was stolen. Now if that's the case why not just come out and ask me?"

"We'll play it your way Captain, for now. Did you have anything to do with the missing information?"

"Last month I was on carrier duty in the Med. I come here to replace the Captain that was relieved for cause and you think I may have been involved? I think your reaching here because you can't figure it out." To say that Gibbs was getting angry would be an understatement. He was used to running the show and being in complete control. He was again being flummoxed by a naval aviator. Chuck was tired of White goading Gibbs and intervened.

"Captain, you sound like you know something so please fill us in."

"Gibbs, you were a Marine, start at the beginning and work forward. You're working from the end and going backwards. If you were planning this what would you do? That's all I can offer you. I can tell you I'm not your guy. Good day people." Reynolds pretty much ended their discussion. The NCIS team left the office and pondered what Reynolds said.

White called Eve right after they left, "I passed on what you said to. You have anything else I can pass on?"

"No, only what I overheard in the locker room about some Petty Officer's boyfriend acting different."

"Do you think your hunch will pay off?"

"Only time will tell. I'll keep poking around and see if I hear anything else."

When they got back to the office they were using during their investigation they began to go over what Reynolds said.

"Gibbs, what do you think he meant by that start at the beginning?" asked Sarah.

"We know when the files were found missing. We checked out everyone that had access to the files and found nothing. We searched all their rooms, houses and vehicles. We have nothing. Even the samples we gave Abby didn't give us anything."

"Thinking back to Reynolds statement, what if we are going about it the wrong way?" questioned Chuck.

"What do you mean Chuck," this was asked by Ziva.

"If I was going to steal top secret documents, why do it all at once and make it so noticeable? I think that's what Reynolds meant. I'd take the information a little bit at a time. My guess is that whoever took the files still has them and it was set up by the person they were working with," stated Chuck.

"That's a good theory but still leaves us with nothing," Gibbs commented.

"No Gibbs, it doesn't. Taking the files in pieces doesn't help anyone. They need it all at one time. One person makes a copy of the file and hides it somewhere on base. The second person makes the file disappear. When it's found missing all hell breaks loose. When the file can't be found they relax the security on base and they can get it off base," suggested Sarah.

"I'll get my people started on checking out the gym lockers and post office boxes. You guys check the base storage area used by deployed sailors. It's not much but it's a start."

Later that night White and Eve were hanging out at a club frequented by the base personnel. She had passed by the sailor's desk as she was leaving and heard the name of the club in passing. They decided to go there in hopes of learning something. Eve spotted the Petty Officer enter the club and join a man already seated in a booth. It wasn't long before she was involved in a very animated conversation with the man who was clearly upset about something. Eve nudged White and pointed out the couple. White snapped a quick picture for later. They hung out and followed the man when he left the club and headed to a down town post office and checked a box. They followed him in and went to the stamp machine and bought some stamps. He removed all the mail except for a large manila envelope. As he was leaving he made a call, when he spoke it was in Russian, not English. They allowed the man to leave and relayed the information to Chuck. Now it was up to the team to come up with a plan.

The next day Gibbs was barking out orders like it was his team members had found the person they were looking for. This caused Chuck and Sarah to roll their eyes in disbelief. Chuck glanced over at Ziva who just rolled her eyes along with them. Chuck wondered why a Mossad agent would want to work with this Larkin Shaw half breed. In typical Gibbs fashion he went for the quick arrest. They recovered the missing files and in a few hours and had their suspect in custody. After putting the sailor in the brig to await transportation back east where he would stand trial in Falls Church they went back to their temporary office to report in.

It wasn't long before Beckman was on the Video screen addressing her team.

"Agent Gibbs, explain your decision to make the arrest today and not wait on my teams assessment."

"General we had all the information on the suspect we needed and the location of the missing files. I did what I was supposed to do."

"Chuck, what is your assessment of the situation?"

"Ma'am, we believe Gibbs acted prematurely. We had more information on the case that he chose to ignore. It is my opinion that he plans on the short term and not the long term. My people that gave us the information are on the way here with the additional information."

"When can we expect them?" asked the General just as a knock came from the door. Casey opened the door and Captain Reynolds and Commander Woods entered the room.

"Agents White, what do you have for us?" Gibbs was in shock that he had been left out of the loop concerning Chuck's undercover team. What bothered him even more was the way Reynolds had treated him during questioning.

"From what I could gather the suspect mailed the files to himself the day prior to them being found missing. That's how he got them off post then destroyed the originals. The suspect made a call as he was leaving the post office last night. He was speaking in Russian which raised my suspicions about him even more. Nothing he said made any sense. His main concern was getting in touch with the Cartel." When the General heard the word Cartel she broke into the conversation.

"Put extra guards on him immediately, lock down the brig and keep him safe at all costs. Do it now people." Chuck's team had never witnessed the General bark out orders like she was doing. Gibbs was on the phone as fast as he could. When he got off he had a hard look on his face.

"General, the prisoner is dead. When they went to his cell to check on him he was unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival."

"Gibbs get your sorry ass out of my teams office. Your continued belief that you are always right has just cost us a valuable person of interest. Chuck, call me when your team returns to the ISA." The ISA team had never seen the General so pissed off before. What ever happened to Gibbs when he returned home would not be good.

"Gibbs, before you go I have one thing to say," White began. "Rabb warned me about you. He was right. You don't look at everything before you make your move. You screwed up with him and you royally fucked up now. Good luck when you get back, you're going to need it."

Gibbs gathered his team and they left. Each member pondering what would happen when they returned home. They had followed Gibbs for years and to some he was a father figure. To see him dressed down like he was, left them with a sour taste in their mouths. Chuck's team packed up their stuff and made plans to head back.

Later that day the Panel had a conference. Beckman addressed the Panel.

"Our enemy is on the move. It was the Cartel that attempted to steal the information on the fleet. We retrieved the files but can't say for certain that no information got passed on. Gibbs screwed up and went in too soon and the agent was killed."

"So we lost our first credible lead to the Cartel. This is not good people," stated Frost.

"They went old school on this one. They just used hard copies of what they wanted, nothing electronic we could trace," added Beckman.

"Put the team on alert and fill them in. The fact they were talking in Russian concerns me," Smith said. "There are still a few people left in power that would favor a return to the old Soviet Union. If they were tied into the old Volkoff network this could get messy in a hurry."

"I'll inform the team when they return."

**Siberia**

"Our contact in the Air Force was successful in getting some or their fighter information to us. One of our people failed to deliver the nuclear fleets information. We are still waiting on the others to report in," one man informed the group.

"Good, once we have all the information we can move on to the next phase of our plan," another man said. "Within the year we will have the Americans under our control and we can take our country back and become the power we once were."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **After a small case of writers block I got back on track today. Thanks to all that reviewed and put this or any of my works in their alerts or favorites. Please read the A/N at the bottom. I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 3: Getting busy.**

**Two weeks after Kitsap.**

After the bombshell the Panel dropped on them two weeks ago after the Kitsap fiasco the ISA was in the process of redistributing its assets. The Austin branch was going to be closed down when the additions were made to the Echo Park headquarters was complete. With the economy in a downward trend several buildings in the industrial park were for sale because the businesses they were owned by went belly up. Beckman had the government buy those buildings for the new ISA complex. Chuck contacted the same person who designed the Echo Park to work on the new complex. It was going to be an ambitious project revamping the old warehouse's into office buildings. The hardest part was going to be the underground connecting tunnels that Chuck's team wanted in place. Security would be a paramount concern for the new complex. People could not be seen walking from building to building all day long, so they came up with the tunnel idea.

They were thankful that relocating the personnel and their families was a nightmare they wouldn't have to deal with. Uncle Sam had programs in place to move its employees when they had to. The team hoped that within six months the complex would be completely operational.

"With our consolidating plans in place we need to decide where to start placing agents," began Chuck.

"I would start by pacing at least one on the largest and most important military bases. Put them in the special law enforcement branches like the Operations for Special Intelligence (OSI) in the Air Force. They pretty much have free reign to look into whatever and whoever they want. Bring them aboard as agents in place. They stay with us till they rotate out then they can continue at their next assignment. They work undercover all the time," supplied Casey.

"That could work," Sarah chimed in. "It would also help us fill positions and give us in roads around the world."

"I agree," added White. "None of them would have access to the information we feel is being stolen and passed on, so we can almost rule out they have anything to do with it. That's a big plus in my book."

"We could also use the baby agents as well," continued Eve. Somehow over the last year she had gone from analyst status back to agent status. "They won't have such a hard time adjusting to how we do business like the more seasoned agents do."

"I like all the ideas you guys have. Now I have to get Beckman to buy into it from a DNI perspective. It's her agents we'll be poaching, again," Chuck said with a sigh.

"Not really Chuck," offered White. "They just need to up the quota a bit. They reject a lot of people each year because they don't have what it takes to be field agents. We can use those people. A friend of mine growing up couldn't hurt a fly. Great at solving problems and figuring out who did the crime in a movie before any of us could. He'd have been perfect for this type of work."

"I'll pass that on as well. Anything else before we head out for the day?" seeing the looks he was getting from his team he dismissed them to go about their business. Sarah of course stayed behind.

"Did you ever see yourself in this position, being the head of a department within the CIA?"

"Not only no, but hell no. I just wanted to get my mom back and I did. This is not what I expected the end result to be. I'm just glad I have a good team of advisors working with me."

"We are the best for a reason you know. All of us have different skills and ideas; you take the best and make it better. You listen to us and that's the key to being a good leader."

"I paid attention to White. You should hear him go off about some of the duds, his words not mine, that he worked with in the Army and Navy."

"That bad huh?" questioned Sarah.

"Sarah, you have no idea about some of the dopes he had to work with. One officer scared even me. White said it took all he had to keep her alive. I make it a point to never go down that road, ever."

"So you talk to him a lot do you?"

"Usually when you girls have your nights out, he hangs out and we talk. He says it saves him from going to the shrinks. He also doesn't want me going down the same roads he did. It's a wonder he's not crazy."

"If you listen to him he is. Let's get out of here for the day, there not much left to do until Beckman signs off on what we need," added Sarah. Chuck and Sarah grabbed Eve and White on their way out and went to the Greek restaurant they began to go to on a fairly regular schedule. When the meals finished the couple said their good byes and headed home.

When Sarah and Chuck entered their apartment, Chuck went over to the sound system and turned on some smooth jazz. He pulled Sarah close and began to dance with her. His hands began to explore her body through her clothes. His hands made their way to her butt and he started caressing it. Sarah not to be out done ran her hands up his back under his shirt. They began kissing slowly and tenderly. It wasn't long before they were removing each other's clothes with practiced ease.

Both of them now naked and highly aroused deepened the kisses. They were dancing skin to skin and it was driving both of them wild with desire. Sarah finally had enough and in a throaty voice said two words to Chuck, "bedroom now." After an intense round of love making they both drifted off into a deep sleep cradled in each other's arms, the worries of the upcoming mission forgotten about.

The next morning Chuck informed his team that the General wanted to speak with them personally. They were gathered in the main office waiting for the General's call. White was the first to speak up.

"I hate to say it but I have a bad feeling about this meeting."

"What makes you say that?" questioned Casey.

"Easy, the last time she called us and personally conducted one of our planning sessions I got stuck in the Navy. I'm betting that since the last attempt to get naval information was thwarted, that's where she'll want to start. Then she'll want to hit the Corps because they fall under the Navy. After that it's all up in the air."

"Why does it always seem like you know what she's thinking?" asked Sarah.

"When you've been around as long as I have you pick up peoples habits. It's also what I would do."

"I can't argue that you're old," quipped Eve. "You tell us often enough."

"White, no comments about sex, I know where you're going to take it," Chuck interrupted.

"Take what Team," the Generals voice came over the communications systems.

"I was going to start talking about sex again, Ma'am," White began.

"Is that all you ever talk about anymore during your meetings? Aren't you supposed to be working on a plan to find our security leaks?"

"We were waiting on you Ma'am," supplied Casey.

"With you five I doubt it that to be true. I have your new assignments ready. The Panels best guess is they will attempt to acquire information on the Navy's carrier groups and the Marine Corps operational plans," began the General. White glanced over at Chuck and mouthed 'told you.' "We have the carrier groups that operate off the east coast covered as well as Marine Corps bases. We also have four of the west coast carrier groups covered. Major Casey will be assigned to Camp Pendleton filling a Lieutenant Colonels billet. Congratulations Colonel Casey. They will hold the official promotion ceremony after you arrive."

"Congratulations Colonel," offered White. His words were echoed by the rest of the team. "We would be honored to attend. Just let us know when and where it will be."

"I'll have the information sent to each of you since I will be attending. Chuck and Sarah you will be assigned to the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu as civilian contractors in the IT department. Carina will be going to Miramar in logistics. Eve will be assigned as a Cryptographic expert on the USS Nimitz." A loud groan was heard coming from the direction of White. They all turned his way and he looked back at them.

"I told ya didn't I?"

"It's of your own making White. You apparently made a name for yourself with the Navy while flying those covert missions for us over Bosnia and the Gulf. The navy kept your name on file as a pilot. When you went back to the Army full time they actually tried to get you back. Now add what happened at Kitsap to the list and the SECNAV decided you were the man for the job. I actually wanted you to go to Camp Irwin."

"How is my damn name still on file with the Navy? That information was supposed to be deleted when the mission was over. What were they thinking?"

"That White is classified information. Why would we give up such a valuable cover identity?" replied the General.

"Because it was supposed to be a one-time good deal," White snapped.

"Using a carrier group to launch an attack on the Ring was your idea of keeping it quiet?" asked Beckman. "Add to that pulling in a Naval Captain to be your wing man? When the Captain in question was asked if you were a risk prior to the Ring mission he told us you're one of the best sticks he's ever flown with. Then there was the time you spent at Fallon, again with Rabb. From the reports I got the two of you flew circles around the best pilots the Navy has to offer." Undeterred Beckman charged on with her speech.

"That kind of praise coming from a pilot with two DFC's and a Silver Star carries a lot of weight with us brass types. So Captain Reynolds if there is anyone to be mad at you need to look in the mirror."

"Well chuck me. Looks like I'm back in the Navy, again. Maybe next time you'll put me back in the Army."

"For the foreseeable future you're a Naval Aviator, there are four other carrier groups you'll be checking out. Don't worry; your wife will be moving with you."

"General with all of us going undercover who will be running the ISA? This mission doesn't look to wrap up anytime soon," asked Chuck.

"For the time being I will be moving out there to take over. My second in command at the CIA and NSA will take over for me back here. The Panel feels it would be a good idea for one of us to be close to the action. So it's me."

"Glad to have you on board Ma'am," said Casey.

"I'll be there in a few days with your orders and anything else you may need, Beckman out."

"And the winner of who guessed the closest to the truth is, drum roll please…ME!" exclaimed White pointing his thumbs at his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we got it," said Sarah. "I guess we should start packing some of our stuff up. The good thing for us is we can be back here in a few hours."

"Lucky you," began Eve. "Because my husband happens to know how to fly my happy ass gets to go on a carrier. I have never been on a ship before for an extended time, let alone a carrier. I had a hard enough time during our mission against the ring and Kitsap. This is just plain nuts if you ask me."

"That's what I said before. I've had my fill of carriers. Four years was enough for me, I love to fly but not off a carrier. It's too damn noisy."

"Beckman will be here in a few days and we should get some more information then," added Casey. "I have to get my uniforms out of storage and ready to go. White, I suggest you do the same."

"I just put them away too damn it. One good thing I'll be in flight suits most of the time. How come the boss and his boss always get to go casual? I think we need to negotiate a new contract when this mission is done," added White. Eve began to laugh at that and Sarah followed right behind. Chuck was standing there with a confused look on his face. He just had to ask what White was talking about.

"The General always wears a uniform how is that casual?"

This sent both ladies over the edge and even got Casey to laugh a little.

"Sarah he is dense," Eve said through her giggles, "Chuck, White meant Sarah you dope. I can't wait to tell Ellie about this." Everything finally got settled down and they all left to get ready.

As promised two days later General Beckman showed up and she had two people with her. One of them was an Army Captain Jones, the Generals aide; the other was Commander Elizabeth 'Skates' Hawke.

"Skates, what are you doing here," asked White.

"Hammer said you're going to need a weapons officer and here I am."

"How the hell did he find out?"

"You're kidding me right? Hammer pays more attention to the movement of pilots than the Admirals do. As soon as he saw your name pop up as being re-activated he was burning up the phones getting me assigned to you."

"That answers that question. Welcome aboard Skates."

Beckman began setting up her office, the one that used to belong to Chuck. Chucks team had cleared most of their stuff out by now so it took them little time to remove their remaining things. Beckman handed out orders to those who needed them. Chuck and Sarah just needed identification from the company they were supposed to be working for. They would get their official ID cards when they got to Point Mugu. She also told them that Casey's promotion ceremony and dining in would be taking place in two days at the officers club on Camp Pendleton. Dress uniforms were required for those in the military and formal attire for civilians. The following day they would head out to their assigned duties.

Beckman held a briefing before they would go their separate ways for the next few days. She explained the operation in general to everyone, and then called in each team to go into details. White would do the checking on the pilots. Knowing aviators are tight group anyone not an aviator would get the cold shoulder. Eve would track all communications to and from the carrier. She would also be the point of contact for the other agents assigned to the carrier. The general public could find out if a carrier was deployed and to what region, but the exact location was classified. It would be of great importance to an enemy if they had the routes and capabilities of the carrier group.

At Point Mugu, Chuck and Sarah would insert one of Orion's tracking programs into the system. It would alert them to certain keywords that may appear in e-mails. The NSA would take care of the land lines and monitoring of cell phones.

Carina would check for any missing items in the supply system. She would also be responsible for making sure the records stayed safe. If the enemy knew what was going where and how, they could find a way to disrupt it.

Casey would be heading up the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on Pendleton. With a team of agents they would be checking the accounts of the military and civilians attached to Pendleton and the surrounding areas. Anything of interest would be flagged and sent to the ISA to be checked into. He would be the first to get the new group of baby agents, as Eve called them.

During his meeting with Beckman White told her that she should have some baby agents trained as Hornet mechanics and technicians. His reasoning was simple; they had easier access to the manuals than the pilots. Beckman was on board with the idea and made the decision to add a few new agents to each team.

The day of Casey's promotion ceremony finally arrived. He arrived early to rehearse the ceremony, his team mates would arrive later. Casey's promotion was causing a logistical nightmare for the Public Affairs Officer. It wasn't the fact he was getting promoted, it was who was attending that was causing the problems. The base commander was a full colonel. It wasn't everyday a general paid a visit and today there were two.

Fifteen minutes before the ceremony was to begin the General's motorcade pulled up in front of the officers club. The first two cars were marked with flags denoting the ranks of the officers within the car. The first one had two stars, the second had one star and the last two were left unmarked. Major General Beckman exited the first vehicle followed by her aide. Brigadier General Jones, USMC exited the second vehicle. He was one of Casey's former commanders and was invited by General Beckman. The rest of the team exited the last vehicles and followed the Generals into the club. They were seated in the front row according to naval protocol.

Both General's gave a short speech about Casey before the promotion ceremony. The ceremony itself was short with General Beckman having the honor of pinning on Casey's silver oak leaves. The guests were then escorted to the tables they would be dining at.

"That was some speech Beckman gave about Casey. I just wish he would have told us some of those things himself," said Sarah.

"Casey hates to talk about himself, all he wants is to do his job," explained Chuck. "He doesn't care about the accolades. He didn't even want the ceremony. He told me he would rather have them tell him he was promoted and he'd stick them on himself."

"This is the first time I've seen Casey in his blues. His medal rack is impressive as hell. I'll have to ask how he got some of them. It would be good to know more about him," continued Sarah.

"They should have let him have his way. I know a few military guys who feel the same way. Then again some like all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with the promotion. Most of them just put up with it," Eve added on.

"I can see why," Chuck commented.

**At the head table…**

When they were all seated, White was the first to offer his congratulations again.

"So Colonel Casey, how does it feel to be moving up in the world?"

"It feels really good to be honest. Doing what we do I never expected it."

"I for one feel you will do a fine job in your new command," Jones added. "You were one of the finest junior officers I ever worked with. It was a long time coming and you deserve it. When I got the call from General Beckman I thought, it's about damn time."

"Thank you Sir it was an honor to have served under you. You helped make me into the officer I am today."

"I also think you will do good things in your new posting. It was an honor to pin those oak leaves on you today. They were passed on to me by someone who admires you a great deal, Colonel Casey. If you wear them as well as he did it won't be long until you join him in rank."

"He was a good officer Ma'am?"

"Is a good officer John, not was. Since the food is arriving I think it's a good time to change the subject and eat. We can talk about him later." Once dinner was finished Casey asked to be excused to talk to his team, Beckman granted him permission and he made his way to Chuck's table. Unnoticed by Casey was Beckman getting up and following him with Reynolds right behind her.

**Chucks table**

"Eve, why does Bill look like a cat on a hot tin roof?" asked Chuck.

"You know Bill, he hates being in the limelight in any fashion, he wanted to sit with us but protocol required he sit at the head table."

"Then why didn't he just wear his Army blues instead of the Navy dress whites? There only for his cover anyway," asked Carina. "I'm sure nobody would even bat an eyelash at him for being Army."

"Beckman wouldn't let him. He tried going that route but she shut him down cold. She said and I quote, "You're a Captain in the Navy now, it's time to act like it, unquote."" Eve explained to the people at the table.

"Congratulations Casey," Sarah said rising to give him a hug, Chuck echoed her comments but elected to pass on the hug and just shook his hand, Carina was next to give him a hug but added a small kiss on the cheek. Eve was the last to shake his hand.

"Thank you guys, It means a lot to have you here tonight."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world," Chuck stated in a firm voice.

"I hate these dog and pony shows," Casey said while tugging at his collar. "I just wanted them to hand me my rank and I'd pin it on myself. No big deal."

"We were just talking about the same thing a few minutes ago. Eve was telling us that Bill feels the same way," Carina said. "What we can't figure out is why he didn't just wear his Army blues tonight and instead of his cover uniform. He could have avoided all of this."

"Because I wouldn't let him," stated Beckman from behind them. Hearing her voice caused Casey and Eve to come to attention as protocol dictated when speaking to a senior officer.

"I told White to use his Army cover until I felt the time was right. With our operation now concentrated on the Navy you will hear his name come up a few times and will run into people that know him. The only person in the modern Navy that not only comes close to but exceeds Captain Reynolds is Captain Rabb." Beckman paused after this to look at the faces of her team members. She saw what she expected to see, shock, awe and confusion. She then continued on,

"During the ring mission Captain Ingles thought he recognized White from his past, so he pulled out some old photos of pilots he flew with and found one of a much younger White posing with the then Ensign Rabb. Chuck, your team has been working with one of the best Naval Aviators of all time. Casey, it was Reynolds that passed on the oak leaves you are now wearing. On my orders he just started using his real name for the first time in over twenty years, William Reynolds, Captain, United States Navy."


End file.
